Health Watch: Cheesecake Factory paces Xtreme Eating awards’

Comment

By More Content Now

Wellington Daily News - Wellington, KS

By More Content Now

Posted Aug. 8, 2014 at 1:01 AM

By More Content Now
Posted Aug. 8, 2014 at 1:01 AM

Tip of the Week

The Cheesecake Factory dominated the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s 2014 Xtreme Eating awards, taking three of the nine spots in the watchdog group’s annual ranking of restaurant dishes deemed “xtreme” in calories, fat and sodium content.

Leading entries for the Cheesecake Factory is its “Bruleed French Toast,” coming in at 2,780 calories, 93 grams of saturated fat — nearly what is recommended for an entire week for an adult — 2,230 milligrams of sodium and 24 teaspoons of sugar. Other Cheesecake Factory “winners” include the Farfalle with Chicken and Roasted Garlic (2,410 calories, 63 grams of saturated fat and 1,370 milligrams of sodium) and, for dessert, a slice of Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake (1,500 calories, 43 grams of saturated fat, 21 teaspoons of sugar).

While the Cheesecake Factory had the most entries, the honor for the single most “xtreme” meal belongs to Red Robin Gourmet Burger’s “Monster” meal, with double patties, bottomless steak fries and a Monster Salted Caramel Milkshake. The creation, with only one helping of fries, comes in at 3,540 calories, 69 grams of saturated fat, 6,280 milligrams of sodium and an estimated 38 teaspoons sugar.

Other restaurants with dishes to make the list are Famous Dave’s, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Chevy’s Fresh Mex, Joe’s Crab Shack and Maggiano’s Little Italy.

Number to Know

12: The number of hours of brisk walking a typical adult would need to burn the calories consumed in Red Robin’s “Monster” meal.

— Center for Science in the Public Interest

Children’s Health

Many obese and overweight American children and teens believe their weight is normal, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

About 81 percent of boys and 71 percent of girls classified as overweight think their weight is about right. Among those classified as obese, 48 percent of boys and 36 percent of girls believe their weight is about right.

Senior Health

A new study from the University of California, San Francisco shows that, while the effect of life’s stresses accumulate over time and accelerate cellular aging, those negative effects may be reduced by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising and sleeping well.

— ScienceDaily.com

New Research

Running just a few minutes a day, even at slow pace, can reduce risk from dying of heart disease, a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests. The pace and frequency of a person’s running routine made little difference in how much benefit is derived from the exercise. Data showed that people who ran less than 51 minutes in a week, fewer than 6 miles, slower than 6 miles per hour or only once or twice a week still had a noticeably lower risk of heart death than people who never ran at all.